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My first 10 games. The cup was easy. One was a 2nd division side and the other was a first division side. We should have won much more comfortably actually The defeats were *****. The first one there agains Nassr - two own goals and we just played **** against Najran I dunno. Gutted we couldnt beat Ahli who are a good side. They had a man sent off right after half time while winning 1-0 and we just barely scraped the equaliser.

We are in a battle for 4th. Which is the last CL place. Or we could win the cup.

Was fuming after the cup game. There was nobody left in the last 8 that was in the top half of the Prem league. Should have won the whole thing. Was well beaten by Al-Hilal. I holidayed the Al-Ain game thinking that ACL qualification was basically done. oh dear. Draw a fair result against Al-Ittihad.

Dont know what happened against Al-Sadd It put us in an awkward position but because we beat Sepahan we topped the group !

We were quite lucky to beat Al-Jazira, they had loads more shots and stuff but it was even enough.

The battle for 4th went on until the last day. End of season screenshots/season review type thing coming up. Even though we finished 4th, we did not qualify for the ACL, I only realized this a few months later Some mid-table side won the cup so they got the 4th spot.

Took hold of the New Zealand national team on the 6th July 2017 :bowdown: Back to where it all began. Going to stay until I win the OCE Nations Cup which is in 2020

Winning the league is MILES away at this stage. If I ever achieve it at this club it would be a great achievement.

Squad for this season is as follows

Al-Mutlaq has 20 caps for Saudi Arabia ALREADY ! 7 goals for his country. Scored 8 in 26 last year in the league. 10 assists. Good player.

Al-Khaibary has 6 in 11 for his country. Got 15 in 20 last season and is our central striker 17/16 for pace/acceleration which is good to have

Maierstein came to us after his contract expired at Leverkusan and he looks like a beast. Has 2 appearances for Germany U21s. 19 work rate, 16 for penalties, and a name like Maierstein HOW GERMAN IS THIS GUY :king:

Al-Khaibari came to us on a free from the team who came last in the league last year but he is 18 and has impressive mental stats. Future captain maybe, I dont know how much of a role he will play this year.

Mario Torres has 26 caps for Panama at 19 which is ****ing mental. He arrived and could not settle (A Panamanian in Saudi Arabia WHO KNEW) so fingers crossed he sorts himself out with this 'leave of absence' and comes good. Has a bit of flair and a brilliant first touch.

Tugay Sokucu was my first signing ! I got him on a free and he played 9 games last year. He was chosen as the 4th foreigner because of his versatility.

Fernando played for Bordeaux for years and joined Al-Shabab for £5M in 2011-12 but he is old as **** and this is his last season. Our captain.

Al-Ittihad (A) - A **** start to the season against the reigning champions. They scored first but we pegged them back just before half time. It stayed that way until stoppage time when they nicked it. 1-2

Al-Ettifaq (H) - They had a man sent of after 10 minutes but then the Panamanian Torres gets himself a second yellow for a dive We took the lead a few minutes later and Maierstein blasted in a second in the second half to clinch it. 2-0

Shandong (H) ACL 1/4 FINAL 1st Leg - Excellent start as we take the lead after 12 minutes with a header from a corner. We suffer a big blow when Al-Shibani has to go off injured and is replaced by an 18yr old. The Chinese get a man sent off on the hour and 5 minutes later the 18 yr old, Al-Aboosh makes it 2-0.

Al-Shoalah (A) CROWN PRINCE CUP 2nd Rnd - These lads got promoted last year so we should handle them but they take the lead after 2 minutes. We were playing terrible, must be a continental hangover as it is just 3 days after that game. Fitness is an issue already with so many games. We get a red card with 20 minutes to go and they finish us off 10 minutes later. **** off. 0-2

Shandong (A) ACL 1/4 2nd Leg - Only 4 days after the cup disappointment. 18yr old Al-Aboosh gives us the lead after a minute but they score one on each side of the break and I start to think we are going out but the old head Fernando settles our nerves with 65 gone. Al-Mutlaq makes it 3-2 on the night with 82 gone and that is that. 3-2. LAST 4. CMOOOOOONNNNNNN

Al-Ta'ee (A) - Beaten 3-2, don't want to talk about it. Torres scored though which is a positive.

We sit 12th out of 14 in the league. Out of the cup. ACL is the only bright spot.

Al-Qadisiyah (A) - 4-2, another goal for the young lad Al-Aboosh, one for Al-Mutlaq and a pen for Torres.

Al-Wahda (A) Oh **** this Torres lad might be the real deal. Scores twice in the first half, the second after a lovely little run. 2-0

Pohang (Korea) (A) ACL 1/2 FINAL 1st Leg - We froze. They battered us. They took the lead after 10 minutes, should have been tie over at half time but they were dirt in front of goal. They won 19-3 on shots but the final score was only 0-1

Pohang (A) ACL 1/2 FINAL 2nd Leg - We have to make the most of this opportunity, we shouldn't still be in this but we are. After 24 minutes we had a corner cleared but it was worked back in and Al-Mutlaq stroked home a tap in. All level now. Just 14 minutes later and Al-Mutlaq turned creator with a little dink over the top for his strike partner Al-Khaibary to finish and as it stands we would qualify. Pohang began to cause us more problems after half time and after an hour a cross comes in from the right, as soon as it left his foot I paused it, I could see him lurking at the back post. Kadodia the South African striker who bossed the first leg was free and duly put it in. In the 84th minute I thought a header was sneaking in but the keeper kept it out. That was it. Out on away goals. ****ing gutted. 2-1

Hajer (A) - UGH, Tugay Sokucu sent off after half time, they scored 5 minutes later. We were utter utter ****. 0-1

Al-Hilal (A) - Tough game but we need to sort ourselves out. They took the lead after 7 minutes. Here we go again. Yet another red card after 2 minutes (Tackling isn't even on red, ****ing game) but we equalize a minute later and hold on for a 1-1

Al-Ahli (H) - **** game, Fernando got sent off for a clever foul when they were through on goal. So yeah another red card, another game where we dont win. The two themes of the season. 0-0

Al-Fateh (A) It is looking like more disappointment and more dropped points until the 82nd minute when Al-Khaibary broke through and finished :bowdown: No red cards ! 5 yellows though, dunno why we get so many cards ??? 1-0

We are 7th in the league, but with a game in hand on a few teams above us. Season is over though other than the race for 4th. Out of the cup, out of the CL, dead as a club.

Al-Nassr (A) We got a man sent off after 35 minutes. Seriously what the ****. Was 1-1 until the hour when A;-Khaibary got 2 in 2 minutes and settled it. 3-1

Al-Ra'ed (H) 2-0 . . . only 1 yellow card too

Al-Shoalah (H) Al-Khaibary gave us the lead but SHOCKER we got a red card a few minutes later. 16 minutes gone and already down to 10. They equalize before half time but just after the break some random midfielder scored a screamer for us and we held on to win 2-1

Najran (A) We went 1 up just before the break. I put the second half on and then forgot about it whilst browsing or something. Finished 2-2 . . . . .bad management

Al-Ittihad (H) - So playing the champions again. The *****. Al-Khaibary the ****ing legend gives us the lead after rounding the keeper and bundling it in. 39 minutes gone. We deserved the win and got it. **** Al-Ittihad and **** their wage bill. 1-0

So, we enter 2018 :djmac:

Al-Khaibary - 10 goals in 12 games. Beast.

Mario Torres - Inconsistent as **** but scored 4 goals and has a 7.2 Av.Rating. Injured now though.

Al-Aboosh - 3 goals in 6 starts. Not bad for a kid. Won't get near the team if all strikers fit but could to have the option.

After the board pumped that money into the club I snook in a signing while my wage offerings were not restricted to £250 A Goalkeeper from Russia, 31 year old Belenov. Looks very very good.

Hajer (A) Looked like a ****** draw but Al-Shibani popped up to score in the 85th minute to give us the win 2-1

Al-Ettifaq (A) This time it looked like a win until a late goal. They equalized in the 82nd minute and we just couldn't get another one. Gutting result. 1-1

Al-Qadisiyah (H) Al-Mutlaq got 3, Al-Khaibary got 2 . . .5-0

Al-Ta'ee (H) Al-Khaibary scored a few seconds in and Torres clinched it in the second half. 2-0

Being out of the cup and not in the ACL makes it a quiet period No red cards in this update though *dances* *dances* Looking at the fixtures we haven't lost in like 12 games, doesn't really feel like that with some of the draws though.

Al-Hilal (H) - This was the game where my whole team almost was on international duty. 8 of my players were in the Saudi Arabia squad while these lads had none. They are hovering just behind us in 4th too so this was a massive game. It was horrible. 0-2

Al-Wahda (A) - Al-Mutlaq scored after 4 minutes and then we made it much nervier ourselves by just not really bothering to play. Torres got injured, will miss most of the remaining games. 1-0

Al-Ahli (A) - They look like they will win the league, this was a bit of a **** game. 0-0

Al-Fateh (H) - Again a fairly terrible performance but we scored twice at the end (89 and 90+2) so it looks comfortable. 2-0

Al-Ra'ed (A) - Again we were not playing great. Top striker lad Al-Khaibary scored after an hour and Al-Mutlaq made the scorline look better deeep in stoppage time. 2-0

Al-Nassr (H) - Yeah we won, good performance. 3-0

Najran (H) - We clinched 3rd with a 0-0

Al-Shoalah (A) - we won, 1 each for the two lads up top. 2-0

DEFYING ALL ODDS

Al-Khaibary - 17 goals in 23. Plays poacher so he is expected to be the top scorer really

Al-Mutlaq - Got 13 goals, he played a bit in midfield when we had injuries/suspensions

Torres - Only played 19 times, but played well. Still think he can improve.

Belenov - Came in for the last 13 games and only conceded 4 2 of them were in that ROBBERY of a game against Al-Hilal

We topped the red card table with 6 and the yellow card table with 49

What to people think of this format ?
Do people want any screenshots ?

Al-Ittihad (A) - Playing these rats again first day of the season. We were 2-0 down within 20 minutes and I thought yeah this is gonna be a **** season. New signing Al-Jehani got one back with a SCREAMER before half time. Comeback was on but then they made it 3-1 just after halftime on the hour Al-Jehani scored ANOTHER SCREAMER and we piled on the pressure to try equalize. There was 3 minutes added on. In the 96th minute we had a corner, and it was cleared to the edge to the box where Al-Shibani drove it into the bottom corner. What a game. 3-3

Al-Qadisiyah (H) - Torres scored after 10 minutes but despite peppering their goal we couldn't get a second until the 73rd minute when Torres got another. French CB Mangin got a third a few minutes later. 3-0

Al-Hilal (A) - Yet again a game against these lot is soured by international call ups. This time I am without my underage Saudis. Had to play Al-Harbi up front who is utter ****. Despite that, he scored after 10 minutes We didn't do much else in the game and they got an equalizer. 1-1

Al-Ra'ed (H) - Al-Aboosh has been partnering Al-Shibani up front because of our preseason injuries and he has been dire. But he scored today after 6 minutes. Al-Jehani scored AGAIN xnod 2-0

Badnah (H) CROWN PRINCE CUP 2nd Rnd - Absolutely smashed this lot. When we went 2-0 up I went overload to try and crush them. Hatricks for Al-Shibani and Al-Aboosh. 9-0

Hajer (A) - Another goal for Al-Jehani, what a signing he has been. He is keeping Mario Torres out of the team. Al-Aboosh got 2 so he is back in business. 4-0

Al-Ettifaq (H) - 16 shots, none of them any good. 0-0

Al-Nassr (A) - Al-Khaibary started his first game of the season and he scored the clincher after Al-Shibani and Mangin had put us two up. 3-0

Al-Ta'ee (A) CROWN PRINCE CUP 3rd Rnd - The is the first time this year that Al-Khaibary and Al-Mutlaq have started up front together. Al-Khaibary opened the scoring just before half-time. A Mangin own goal after 57 minutes leveled it and I got a bit pissed off because I expected him to be playing better than he has been so far this year, he made it up to me by scoring though. Maierstein got sent off at the end. First red. 2-1

Al-Watani (A) CROWN PRINCE CUP 4th Rnd - Another lower league team. Full back Huwais gave us an early lead and Al-Mutlaq made sure of the win late on. 2-0

Al-Shoalah (H) - Wow we are really motoring now but Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad just will not lose. Goal each for Al-Khaibary, Torres, Al-Mutlaq and Al-Jehani in a big win. 4-1

Al-Hazm (A) - Al-Jehani scores AGAIN, it gives us a 2-0 lead just before half time and the game finishes 3-1

Al-Ittihad (H) - THE BIG ONE. We had two goals chalked off for offside in the first half and then they scored after 59 minutes and I was sure we had blown it. Then Torres missed a penalty after 75 and I gave up all hope. They had a man sent off for the foul but it looked like one of those games where you just think it is fixed. Al-Harbi broke through and finished in the next attack and against 10 men I decided to go for it. 3 up top and 3 centre mids. It paid off in the 85th minute when we broke down the left. Our players swarmed forward and they just couldn't deal with the numbers in the box which left Al-Mutlaq free at the back post to nod home. I quickly switched things around and we held on. 2-1

I agreed a contract extension with Al-Mutlaq but before it could be signed Cannes swept in and offered him a deal :crossed: ****ed if he leaves.

Nice last ditch effort against Al-Ittihad! Never giving up. SUck that you may lose Al-Mutlaq though...hope he chooses to stay.

Originally Posted by B.W.G

You've had a great career so far and do really well with Al-Shabab.Keep up the good work

Thanks for the comments lads, glad you're reading.

-----------------------------------------------------

January/Fenruary/March Update

Al-Mutlaq is leaving at the end of the season. To Groningen. Gutted.

Hajer (A) CROWN PRINCE CUP 5th Rnd - Took us until the hour mark to break the deadlock but eventually we won well. 3-0

Mario Maierstein left for 1860 Munchen for 1.6M. Noooooooooo ****ing board. The day he left Al-Mutlaq pulled his hamstring and is gone for a month. I signed an AMC for 600k with the money but I dunno if he is that good and he has to be retrained to MC. I bought him out of spite more than anything ha

Al-Qadisiyah (A) - Al-Aboosh at the start of the second half with the only goal. We were poor. Al-Khaibary got injured in the first half. 6 weeks. ITS ALL FALLING APART LADS. 1-0

Al-Hilal (H) - Record attendance because of their good away contingent, 22,000 which is over 4 times our usual fare Anyway we battered these lads but understandably with our two main strikers missing - We were toothless. Draw double with Al-Hilal Al-Ittihad overtake us at the top. 0-0

Al-Ittihad are smashing everyone to pieces, they could easily win the rest of their games.

Al-Ra'ed (A) - Aw I ****ing hate title races like this, every game is just horrible because even a win doesn't even mean anything when Al-Ittihad just murder someone 5-0 Al-Jehani got injured at the start of the game, out for 5 weeks. Anyway Mangin with 2 goals today. 27 and 77. He has chipped in well from defence. The new AMC lad 'Bandar Khalid' got a 3rd in stoppage time. 3-0

Al-Ra'ed (A) CROWN PRINCE CUP 1/4 Final - Al-Shibani who has been transfer listed by request this season because he wants to go to a bigger club was the star today. An early goal on 16 minutes was cancelled out after half time. He got a winner on 87 to send us through. 2-1

Away to Al-Ittihad in the semis Winner wins the whole thing I would imagine but it is still a ***** draw.

Hajer (H) - Another win, another goal for Al-Aboosh. Playing well above his stats. 2-0

Al-Nassr (H) - Two for Al-Mutlaq on his return, first red card of the season for us (Al-Khodair) but a good win against one of the 'Spend more money than us on wages' teams is always welcome. 3-0

Al-Wahda (UAE) (H) ACL GROUP GAME 3 - We had 31 shots in this game 30 ****ing 1. But yet they took the lead. . . I lashed on another striker and we got one with 14 minutes to play and kept on piling on the pressure but to no avail. 31 shots, 1 point. 1-1

I attended Al-Ittihads game against Al-Ahli as it is my best hope. When Al-Ittihad had a man sent off before half time I got excited but they still went one up. . . I thought all hope was lost but Al-Ahli nicked one on 74 and it finished as a draw. Back in it lads, back in it.

Ohod (H) - These are ****. 5-0

If we win our 6 remaining matches we will be champions. GULP.

Cannot believe it, still in with a chance of a treble but equally it could all go to ****.

Al-Ettifaq (A) - Tense game, it's all a bit different now we are in the driving seat. A goal from Al-Mutlaq gave us the lead and we just about held on for the next 69 minutes 1-0

Al-Ittihad (A) CROWN PRINCE CUP 1/2 Final - Massive game, and Al-Khaibary gve us a 22nd minute lead, we continued to just batter these ***** and finished them off with goals from Al-Khaibary and Mangin either side of the hour. Amazing performance, limiting them to 3 shots. 3-0

Esteghlal (Iran) (H) ACL GROUP GAME 4 - Al-Khaibary went down injured after 8 minutes but Al-Shibai replaced him and scored almost instantly. Al-Mutlaq secured the win before the hour and we are now in the driving seat. 2-0

Najran (A) - Every game is so tense now, dayum. We had to work hard. 2-1

Al-Ahli (A) - Despite leading the title race we could still finish 3rd at this point and Al-Ahli who won the whole thing last year reminded us of this so a defeat here would be really bad. Al-Mutlaq gave us the lead before half-time but right after the break they equalised. They got another 20 minutes later and there was nothing we could do. ****. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. 1-2

Al-Shoalah (A) - It was 3-0 by the hour mark and eventually finished 3-1

Al-Ittihad were away to Al-Wahda and went 1-0 down early, they equalised straight away and my nerves got too much so i didn't look until the end.

spoiler:

Al-Wahda 2-1 Al-Ittihad

IT IS BACK ON, just win our last two games.

Bunyodkor (Uzbek) (A) ACL GROUP GAME 5 - Annoying distraction. We take the lead twice and they peg us back twice (I actually agreed to sign the goalscorer after our last meeting, more on that later) eventually Al-Khaibary got 2 in 5 minutes to kill them off. 4-2

Al-Wahda (H) - As we know from last week, these are dangerous. We got an early goal though and I could relax. Al-Qarni got sent off at 2-0 which could have put us under pressure but we dealt with it. 4-0

Al-Wahda (UAE) (A) ACL GROUP GAME 6 - I told the lads to Take a Breather and Stand Off etc to preserve energy as we have clinched top spot but Al-Khaibary still got injured after 3 minutes . . Mario Torres missed a pen but Al-Aboosh nicked a goal at the end. 1-0

Al-Qadisiyah (N) CROWN PRINCE CUP FINAL - I usually thrash this lot. Al-Mutlaq, who has been excellent since agreeing his move put us ahead after 10 minutes and Al-Shibani added a second 10 minutes after half time. They got one back a few minutes later but never threatened. 2-1

Al-Ahli (H) ACL 2nd Rnd - Bit **** playing these. Al-Hilal are playing Al-Ittihad, the two Iranian teams are playing each other, the two Qatari teams and also the two Chinese teams So tense because this is only one leg. We missed a ton of chances and it went to extra-time. I was going overload for so long I was surprised they didn't catch us on the break. 0-0 PENALTIES

Torres. Al-Shibani. Al-Harbi. Al-Mutlaq. Al-Jehani. ALL SCORED. They missed one. Into the last 8 go.

Al-Hazm (H) - Home to one of the relegated teams to win the league. If you had offered me this at the start of the season etc. Still, I was nervous as ****. Even after we took the lead after 36 minutes. Al-Shibani got us a second before half time and I began to relax. They offered nothing. 2-0

Talal Al-Mutlaq - Won fans player of the year last season which was a great way to go out. Top player. I tried to replace him but I doubt any of the strikers will be able to play DLF as well as him. He was involved in so many of our moves last season, central to our attacks. Signed for FC Groningen. Brilliant player.

Franck Mangin - 8 goals and a 7.44 Av.R sold to an ACL rival for 2.2M. Sigh.

INS -

Jaxongir Agzamov - 700k from Bunyodkor. I scouted him after we played them in the ACL and then snapped him up. He showed me what I was getting by scoring twice in the return game. 38 goals in 42 caps for Uzbekistan. He has good flair, hopefully he can replace Al-Mutlaq.

Granddi Ngoyi - 31yr old Congolese DMC/DC spent most of his career at PSG and was let go in the summer. I scoured the big european clubs and got lots of players in on trials who were released and opted for this guy. Is the replacement for Mangin.

Ahmed Al-Taleb - 24yr old, Saudi GK. Was first choice for Al-Ahli last year but we have got him on a free. Will challenge the Ruski.

ACL 1/4 Final Leg 1 Seoul (A) - So yeah they scored after 10 minutes and I was just thinking here we go again, going out with a whimper but we battled back after half time. Canadian striker De Vos equalised and then with 20 minutes to go that legend Al-Khaibary popped up and gave us the lead. They definitely had more chances than us but with four minutes left we broke and Al-Khaibary tapped it in. 3-1.

ACL 1/4 Final Leg 2 Seoul (H) - Over 8k at it which is big for us, although nothing compared to the 32k at the other leg Anyway we just needed to score here to seal it. We did, and again. 2-0.

ACL 1/2 Final Leg 1 Guangzhou (H) - These lads are romping their league but so were Seoul and we all seen what happened to them xnod This game was ***** though, a really hard game. We had loads of corners at the very end but still didn't score. 0-0.

ACL 1/2 Final Leg 2 Guangzhou (A) - So we have to score in China. Nearly 56 thousand obedient communist Chinese people crammed into this shiny communist stadium to see who would come out victorious. We scored a brilliant goal through some no mark midfielder after 10 minutes and that gave us a lovely cushion so they had to come at us. David De Vos was playing right on the shoulder of the last defender and after 40 minutes he broke through and finished. That has to be it, he got another one for good measure after half time and we were there. In the final. Finally. 3-0

I will be playing Esteghlal of Iran in the final. They have played Al-Shabab 8 times in the game so far winning 4, Al-Shabab have won 3 and there has been one draw. They beat us in the semi final last year, winning both games 2-0. Annoyingly, we took 4 points off them in the group stage that year

Will be gutted if we lose. The game is telling me that I will be at home, that Canadian striker De Vos will be on international duty and that my Congolese enforcer Ngoyi will still be injured. The bookies have us favourites.

The match is in 18 days, game time.

Going to write this final up AS IT HAPPENS for extra drama.

ACL Final Esteghlal (H) -

Yeah this is a genuine home game for us The Iranians have won the ACL twice before while Al-Shabab have lost two finals. That is not a good start lads. It turns out that De Vos is not on international duty which is good because he scored a hat-trick in my last match. Our Japanese left back is on international duty though, and he is quite pivotal to how I have been setting my team up recently so that is annoying. Japan played a match or two but have a friendly in a few days, I should be able to get him back for such an important game.

This is mad tense. First highlight is after 10 minutes and we have them penned back with my midfielders holding the ball probing for openings. When the ball went out to the left back who I have set to romp forward I was reminded that it wasn't my Japanese lad when a really **** cross rolled in. Thankfully De Vos took it off the defender and smashed it into the GOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!111 1-0. yeow. Something weird happened, I minimised the game but now I can't get it back up again I get the tiny box when I hover over the icon and I can see the match going on. WHAT THE ****. **** I could see it there, the window was like below the screen and I could just see the top, I tried to drag it back up but it went and now I can't find it again I GOT IT BACK, I went into task manager, right clicked on FM and hit Maximise xnod It is half time in the match, still 1-0 to me

Nothing is happening, 70 minutes in I took off a striker and lashed on another defender. One of my defenders is slightly injured but I am leaving him on. ****ING CONTAIN. 80 minutes. The game still isn't right. The commentary bar is half cut off down the bottom. They just always have the ball, I don't think my tactical switch was a good idea because I was dominating most of the game but now I am under pressure. No going back now though so 89 minutes in I decide that taking off my other striker for another DM. Straight away they have a header that goes just wide.

1/4 final tie against the the North American champions was way easier than I expected. Pachuca were dispatched 4-1. In the semi-final we had a tougher task. Real Madrid. Amazingly we took the lead early on and held on for a long time but they eventually broke us down with goals in the 71st and 81st minutes. We played Sao Paulo in the 3rd place play-off and again took the lead and again conceded two quick goals but this all happened in the first half. Right at the end of stoppage time we scored a probably offside goal and brought it to penalties. We missed all three

Good fun, made lots of money.

Back to job hunting.

Applied for the Ajax CT job but they wouldn't pay the compo so went for someone else.

The league table for my final season at Al-Shabab

spoiler:

A brilliant end to my time in Saudi Arabia.

As you can see in that picture, I am still unemployed. I applied for a job at the 3rd biggest side in Ghana and again they were flattered and again they chose someone else :sorry:

There is a team in the second tier of Ghana called Dwarfs and I would quite like to manage them. Otherwise I want a top job. The only African leagues I have loaded are Egypt, Ghana and South Africa. I already managed for years in SA so I am not too big on there.

Eventually got a job.

Already played and won the CL with these in a previous game but it took a long time. Hoping for similar success but a bit quicker!

I took over a kind of talented but bloated squad with loads of terrible players and a few good players. I am not great at trimming squads but I will give it a go.

I got rid of like 10 players, mainly free transfers but there are still lots of players unhappy in the squad because they can't get a game.

Spent 500k on a Midfielder/Striker who hasn't played that often. Not a great signing.
Got a goalkeeper in on free who has been really good.
525k on a striker. Prince Nkabinde. Really really good player.
230k on a Cameroonian midfielder who is only 18 and looks good but his performances have been meh.
500k on a Nigerian midfielder who is 24. I don't really know why I signed him, I regretted it immediately.

Playing the same tactic that I did at Al-Shabab. 4-1-3-2 with 3 CM's.

Super 8 Cup = A cup between the top 8 in last years league table
Knockout Cup = A cup between the teams from the Premier League
FA Cup = Pretty much your standard cup

FS Stars (H) Super 8 1/4 Final - What a brilliant start for me. 4-0

Santos F.C. (A) - Really tough game, they took the lead right at the start and we struggled to break them down. Eventually scored after half time and then in the 92nd minute we got a winner SIGN OF CHAMPIONS. 2-1

Bidvest Wits (H) - Pretty easy, PRINCE got a brace. 3-0

Jomo Cosmos (H) Super 8 1/2 Final Leg 1 - Another easy 3-0

Jomo Cosmos (A) Super 8 1/2 Final Leg 2 - 2-2

Bloem Celtic (A) - The striker formerly known as PRINCE got sent off. We won 2-0

Thanda Royal Zulu (H) - Goal each for Ndulula (who I remember from a previous save) and Liphoko but my right back got 2 yellow cards in a minute of first half stoppage time, ****ing thick. 2-1

Kaizer Chiefs (N) Super 8 Final - First test against our big rivals. Going to be interesting to see what sort of level our title challengers are at. Midfielder Masango scored after 10 minutes, he has been banging in the goals from the 'Advanced Playmaker' MC position but he is getting on a bit so I will have to look after him. Anyway they equalised and it went into extra-time. Ndulula scored in the 97th and we held on. First trophy. 2-1

Ajax CT (A) - I could have been managing these if they wanted me. They took the lead early on but Masango got a brace and Prince came back from suspension to get one. What a start in South Africa!!! 4-1

Kaizer Chiefs (H) KO Cup 1st Round - Seriously dour game this. We missed a penalty in extra time and then missed loads more in a shoutout. Out on pens. I don't mind, less fixtures. 0-0p

Tuks (A) - So yeah we are firing shots at these lads but we can't put one away. They go down to 10 just after half-time but we still can't break them down. First dropped points in the league. 0-0

Sundowns (H) - Tough game here. They even had more shots than us but we nicked a goal after half time. A midfielder/striker who I signed called Koapeng but he is ****. Bad signing. 1-0

Screenshot of the league table coming up later because I have already played on a bit.

Jomo Cosmos (H) - We took the lead early then disaster as Prince Nkabinde goes down, Torn calf muscle, 5 months. All those goals, gone Of course they equalised late on. 1-1

Kaizer Chiefs (A) - We didn't have a game for 3 weeks for some reason so we were fresh for this. Still though, we were toothless and they dominated us in the first half, going in a goal up. We were much better after half time. We piled on the pressure but could not score. Our first league defeat. 0-1

Swallows (H) - Tough game, Masango got us out of jail with the only goal. Goals are becoming hard to come by. 1-0

Bidvest Wits (A) - Even though we are not winning comprehensively we are winning. Really think we will win the league. 2-1

Santos F.C (H) - A pretty boring game, Ateba got sent off. We won though as usual. 2-0

Bloem Celtic (H) - This was on TV, as was our previous match and once again we picked up a win. This was a fan day as well or something. 2-0

SuperSport Utd (A) - Another TV game and a pretty big game in the title race. A win here could nearly kill SuperSport. I brought in a Brazilian striker on loan who I thought had good stats. 18 pace, 15 finishing but coaches didn't rate him. Well he had a terrible game, 7 shots, all in the box and no goals. Only 4 of those were on target. His **** positioning and composure and stuff must affect him badly. 0-0

Golden Arrows (H) - Ndulula was back from an injury or suspension or something and scored straight away. A couple more goals followed. 3-0

So 10 games to go and we have a 9 point lead over Kaizer Chiefs. The CL should be starting soon too. EXCITING TIMES.

FS Stars (A) - This was absolutely ridiculous. We were behind for ages until Ndulula equalised on 89 and then in the 92nd minute Masango won it for us. League is surely ours? 2-1

Thanda Royal Zulu (A) - I offered trialist Catanha a contract after this game because he scored! 2-0

CAF CL Prelim Leg 1 Enyimba (H) - I thought the Nigerians would give us a tough test but Catanha scored after a minute and by the 13th minute we were 3 nothing up. Catanha notched a hat-trick and I am now a bit nervous that he won't get a work permit or something. 5-0

Ajax CT (H) - Well these lads are having an awful season. Slumping in the bottom half. We were not about to give them any respite and laid into them. Weird to think I could be managing this lot and now look at them. They should be challengers. 6-0

CAF CL Prelim Leg 2 Enyimba (A) -Took it easy and holidayed this because we are through. 1-1

Tuks (H) - Masango opened the scoring straight away and we were never in trouble really. Brilliant stuff. 3-0

Platinum Stars (A) - Ateba got sent off early on the ****ing dope. We struggled a bit with 10 men. We may have won the league after this result but I forget. 1-1

SA Cup 1st Rnd Kaizer Chiefs (H) - So yeah, them again. I quite like playing them in the first round because if you win then your main rivals are out and if you lose then at least you lost early and have a break. We took the lead after 20 minutes from Okoro but then Masango got injured and we fell apart a bit. 1-3

CAF CL 1st Rnd Leg 1 ASO Chlef (H) - North Africans, the mortal enemy. One good thing is at least these are Algerians, definitely weaker than teams from Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia but still strong. The game was incredibly tense with very few chances for either side. Eventually Ateba got some space and ran at them to open up the game a bit and then slipped in Okoro who had ran from deep and he smashed it in from 8 yards. A brilliant move from two of my signings. 1-0

Sundowns (A) - If we didn't win the league in the last game then we won it here I think. I really can't remember. 0-0

CAF CL 1st Rnd Leg 2 ASO Chlef (A) - I was really nervous about this and then Ndulula blasted one in after 3 minutes to put my mind at ease but then they began to really put us under pressure. After half time they scored so it was level on the night but they would still need to score twice to knock us out. They couldn't do it. 1-1

AmaZulu (H) - The striker formerly known as Prince was back on the scoresheet after his long injury. He scored in stoppage time to make it. 2-0

CAF CL 2nd Rnd Leg 1 Al-Merreikh (A) - The last 16 eh? Delighted to draw the Sudanese in this round because in my opinion they are the weakest team left. They proved this to me by only having one shot and getting ****ing hammered. 5-0

Jomo Cosmos (A) - I holidayed this because I dunno I was bored beating South African teams or something. Well we lost. I don't care. Champions. 1-2

CAF CL 2nd Rnd Leg 2 Al-Merreikh (H) - Obviously this is over but we still did our duty. 3-0

Into the last 8 now. THE GROUP STAGES.

Kaizer Chiefs (H) - Went two up inside twenty minutes but they had pulled back level before half time. Oh yeah they had a man sent off after 5 minutes. Anyway Masango popped up with a winner 15 minutes from time. haha. 3-2

Swallows (A) - Last game. Went one down. Party poopers. Fortunately we got the win, an 83rd minute winner from Ndulula. 3-2

League Table. Soak it in boys.

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Squad screen, sorted by average rating so as to highlight the players who are not **** xnod

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South African Premiership Player Stats

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Any other screenshots anyone would like to see? I will tell you who I got in my CL group in a few minutes. Maybe do a big preview thing, I dunno.

So yeah I love the format of this tournament even if it is really difficult to win. You begin with 64 teams in the prelim and an open draw and two legs brings you to 32. Same again to 16 and then again to 8. The fact there are no seeds means you can draw a top team right at the start and crash out so it is tense. When you get to the final 8 it is split into two groups of 4. Play each team twice and the top two go through to the semi final which is two legged. Two legged final too which I don't like. Well anyway, now you know what is going on!

I have been drawn in Group A. Along with:

Africa Sports - From the Ivory Coast, on paper they should be the most beatable side in the group and if I can get 6 points from them then qualification will be within my grasp. If I don't then it could go very wrong very fast. Looking at their CL history (in-game) they have a habit of making the group stage and then crashing out. One year they beat Orlando on their way to the groups. Sometimes they crash out earlier if they get a tough draw. They seem to be hammered all the time in the groups so I am confident. They won the Confed. Cup (Africa's Europa League) a couple of years ago so they are capable of going all the way.

Al-Ahly - The big boys. The Egyptian giants have won the CL 10 times. Including ingame wins in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018 so they are due one! Their squad is frightening. Full of players who would not look out of place in the European Champions League. Beating them seems like an impossible task. We will have to try but in my opinion, them wrecking everybody in this group and then caught napping in the semi final seems like the logical way for us to win this competition. They should sail through the group but you never know.

USM Alger - The Algerians seem like nothing compared to Al-Ahly but they are a huge club in their own right. They scored a victory over them in the groups in 2020 only to be knocked out by Zamalek and in 2018 they made it all the way to the final when Al-Ahly beat them. So there will certainly be spice in their match-up.

I enjoyed writing up that little preview of the group, it was fun. It did make me scared though.

Fred Kisambale - 375k from Congolese giants TP Mazembe. Only 18 and already my best defender. Absolutely delighted with this signing. Unfortunately he is ineligible for CL games this year because he is cup-tied. Heading 17, marking 16, tackling 18, determination 18, aggression 20 . . .. HE JUST TURNED 18 LADS

Freddy Hurtarte - 275k. He is from Honduras so I signed him without scouting him for some reason and yeah he is **** Nothing to see her. Shake it off, move on.

Gabriel Lawal - A Nigerian kid that cost me almost a million pounds. This is another lad who only turned 18 and I rate him highly. My central midfield is absolutely packed now. If I need to sign another player for here before I win the CL then I will have failed. Unfortunately he signed too late to be included in the CL squad. Hopefully there will be another registration window after the groups or something but I don't think there is.

Tshidiso Khubeka - A South African who cost less than 30k. Only 17, should grow into a decent player but no more. I am finding it very tough to find South Africans who are good enough.

Transfers OUT:

A load of players who were terrible were allowed to go for free but no other movement. Some bids were made late last season for Ateba and Prince from MLS clubs but I told them to **** off.

Right I am going to write about the CL groups before I deal with domestic issues.

Game 1 Africa Sports (H) - Theoretically the easiest game of the group so it seems like a perfect way to start but I am a bit gutted because we are really unfit and still in pre-season I put together a team anyway. It was a tight game, Catanha missed an absolute sitter that was the best chance in the first half. In the second half he got a similar chance and buried it. Unfortunately they went down the other end and knocked it in from a corner. We battered them for the rest of the game but couldn't get the goal. Disappointing result but at least we weren't beaten and we still have a chance. 1-1.

Al-Ahly 3-2 USM Alger

Game 2 USM Alger (A) - So we headed to Algeria and I was thinking ''wow if we lose here and then to Al-Ahly we will have 1 point from 3 games and it will be all over'' So in my eyes this was make or break. We got a great start when Masango headed down from a corner and it was bundled over the line from one of my central defenders. The game remained really tight but I felt we were on top and on the hour we doubled our lead. Prince with the goal but they got a goal back straight away. Luckily Prince wasn't finished and he got a second within 10 minutes and that was that. There was no way back for them. 3-1

Africa Sports 2-5 Al-Ahly

Game 3 Al-Ahly (A) - We were battling it out and we were on top for the first 20 minutes and then DM Mapedi passed it back to their striker and he slotted it home. After that the wind went out of our sails a bit. They got another one after half time and the 57 thousand rabid Egyptians went wild. We pressed and pressed and eventually scored when Prince bundled home but it was in stoppage time and proved to be the last kick of the game. We gave them a good go though. 1-2

USM Alger 1-0 Africa Sports

Game 4 Africa Sports (A) - Lose here and we can give up. Win and we put ourselves in a brilliant position. We started about as well as we could. Top striker and all round great fella Prince Nkabinde with a goal after like 40 seconds. Such a good goalscorer. And well, he continued in this vein for the next hour. Ending up with an amazing 5 goals. 5-0

USM Alger 0-3 Al-Ahly

Game 5 USM Alger (H) - If we win or draw here then we qualify. If we lose then we will need a result against Al-Ahly to qualify so this is basically the decider. Masango is out but other than that we are at full strength because we have had a good weeks rest. Really boring match and it is nil all at half time but we have had the better of it for sure. We continued this dominance after the break. We had a penalty shout turned down after 70 minutes. In the 88th minute a corner flew in and was headed against the crossbar. A scramble ensued and Ateba wheeled away in celebration. Only after that did they get their first shot but it was too little too late. 1-0

Al-Ahly 1-3 Africa Sports - Now Al-Ahly are already qualified but this still shocked me. If we beat Al-Ahly we will finish top, although I don't think it means anything.

Game 6 Al-Ahly (H) - Fixture congestion is really rough right now. Al-Ahly have a lad on 29.5k a week :harry: My god, they are just on another level to us completely. They took the lead before the 20th minute and we couldn't really get in the game at all. It's annoying because they are playing a weakened team, 30 grand a week lad isn't even playing. Obviously I am not at 100% either but still. We went down to 10 men after an hour. I thought that was the end but 5 minutes later Prince whipped the ball in and Liphoko swivelled on it and blasted it in. With 10 minutes to go Prince was put through and he slotted it home. Then 5 minutes later a free kick from midfield was pumped up and Prince nodded it in and basically finished the game. Brilliant stuff, even if it doesn't mean anything. It is a psychological thing. I will just conveniently forget that they played their second team. 3-1

Africa Sports 2-2 USM Alger

After my ropey straight, to pick up maximum points from the final three games is amazing!!

The other group: Raja Casablanca and ES Tunis qualified. Zamalek missed out. They will be sure to win this highest scorer award though, one of their players has 20 goals in the tournament, although now he has been sold to Europe. They did score shitloads of goals in their first two ties so it is not surprising really.

I drew Raja Casablanca who finished top of the other group I think it is a better draw than ES Tunis so I don't mind this time.

CAF Champions League Semi Final Leg 1 Raja Casablanca (A) - The Moroccans lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with three players called Yilmaz in their team. We were nearly at our full CL strength except no Ateba. While they enjoyed more shots and more possession, we had the better quality chances and we were really unlucky on occasions. Overall though this game was really tense and quite dull. With twenty minutes to go Masango played in Prince and he passed it calmly into the corner. We definitely deserved it because we had hit the post earlier and had missed a few clear cut chances too. Although in saying that, it was the only shot on target we had all game 1-0

Al-Ahly 2-2 ES Tunis

CAF Champions League Semi Final Leg 2 Raja Casablanca (H) - They kicked off and frightened the life out of me. They were playing 4-4-2 but their wingers were pushed right up. About 40 seconds in a ball flew in from the left but my left back controlled it and went to come out with it until their right winger flew into the back of him with two feet. Bear in mind that this was in MY box and less than a minute into the game. The ref seemed to take forever but eventually he pulled out the . . . red card. They were down to 10 men after only a minute and it was a brilliant start. This gave us the opportunity to control the game and we did. There was no Ndulula so Catanha started up front and although he is alright, he missed a serious amount of easy chances and that is what he was at today. At half time it was still level but we had the better of it. After half time Catanha smashed it against the post but after that we sort of retreated a bit and they came at us. They couldn't really create anything good though and there was only some minor scares. 0-0

ES Tunis 5-1 Al-Ahly

So yeah, incredibly we are into the final. Obviously brilliant but jesus, after seeing what Tunis have done to Al-Ahly I am absolutely ******** myself

Don't really want to talk about the Super 8 cup. We got through the quarter final and then lost over two legs to Sundowns. I wish we had lost the quarter final to be honest.

Bear in mind that the following games took place slap bang in the middle of the CL campaign. The final game featured here was actually played between the legs of the final.

Jomo Cosmos (H) - I think I played these in my very first game in SA so it is apt that we begin our title defence against them, they took the lead early on and it wasn't until the second half when we equalised. Nigerian midfielder Lawal getting his first goal for us. Shortly after us, the débutante Kisambale got two yellow cards in three minutes and was sent off. That 20 aggression coming back to haunt us We played badly in our first game in the league last year against Santos but got away with it with a last minute winner, no such luck today. 1-1

FC Cape Town (H) - Did Argel manage these? Anyway this was really horrible. We just looked terrible. Some players were rested but still. Incredibly, we scored in the 92nd minute. So lucky. Terrible performance against the promoted side. Not a very inspiring start to our title defence. 1-0

Sundowns (A) - Man, this league campaign is not going well. This was another poor performance. We were reduced to Catanha and new, teenage signing Ngobese up front and they were a bit ****. 0-0

Golden Arrows (H) - Finally a good start, top lad Masango popping up with a goal after ten minutes. I am hoping that Lawal can replace him in that 'Advanced playmaker scoring and assisting loads of goals' role but I am unsure so far. Unfortunately we didn't kick on. It didn't matter because Golden Arrows didn't have anything to trouble us with but it is still not ideal. 1-0

Platinum Stars (A) - I actually can't remember this game at all, it was 0-0 at half time and then somebody messaged me on facebook and I forgot about it. When I clicked back it was full time. 2-2

Kaizer Chiefs (H) - This was before the first leg of the CL semi so not ideal timing. Prince got us off to a flyer after 4 minutes but they pulled it back less than ten minutes later but then we hit back and yet again, Masango was the one to get the goal. After this the game settled down a bit but we were in control. This game was really ****ing fiery with tackles flying around everywhere and inevitably there was a red. It was brandished after nearly seventy minutes to a Kaizer Chiefs player and effectively ended their hopes of a comeback. They finished up with 6 yellows, and we got 3 yellows. 2-1

Witbank Spurs (A) - The newly promoted side lined up with a flat 3-5-2 formation. Catanha and Liphoko lined up as our strikers so not ideal, this was between semi final legs so players were ****ing tired. Witbank offered very little going forward but we were not doing much ourselves. I brought on Ndulula after half time and he delivered. He scored his first goal of the season and his first in 15 games or something, we really needed it. Huge. 1-0

KO Cup 1st Rnd FC Cape Town (H) - I want to win this cup, even though we could do without the extra games. I shook up the team as best I could but we have a small squad so rotation is quite difficult. Lawal opened the scoring after twenty minutes and Kisambale, playing left back, sealed it in the last minute. Good game for our new signings. 2-0

Ajax CT (A) - Masango scored after two minutes and then they had a man sent off after five So a pretty perfect start. They look like they will have a much better season than last year so they could be in the final title shake up. Not a lot from them today though and the game sizzled out. 1-0

FS Stars (A) - Lawal played in the Masango role today and he excelled. A goal after 6 minutes and then another an hour later proved to me that he is capable of replacing Masango when the time comes. Until then he will occupy a different role in the midfield but yeah, stunning player. Catanha got a brace too as we finally scored some goals. 4-1

Swallows (A) - Another tough game but Lawal made it happen and pulled it out for us with a goal with only ten minutes to go. We are not making it easy for ourselves domestically though. 1-0

We sit second. One point behind Kaizer Chiefs and one point ahead of SuperSport.

CAF Champions League Final Leg 1 ES Tunis (H) - Injury troubles meant we had to start Catanha and Liphoko up front and obviously ineligibility meant we were without Kisambale and Lawal. They lined up with a very attacking looking 4-2-3-1. Liphoko and Catanha both missed good chances early on, I was fuming thinking that Prince or Ndulula would have definitely scored. Then after twenty three minutes Catanha picked the ball up centrally and played in Liphoko who had pulled wide right, he came in diagonally into the box and then just lofted it into the air over the keeper and amazingly it dipped into the goal. A brilliant chip. Just before half time Masango went down injured and had to be replaced. Just before the hour mark a ball flew in from the left and while I thought Catanha looked offside he wasn't and tapped it in. It stayed that way until the end, a brilliant result to bring to Tunisia. 2-0

CAF Champions League Final Leg 2 ES Tunis (A) - After only ten minutes we were given a penalty and Happy Simelela smashed it home. That gave us a huge cushion and they would need to score four to deny us. They got one just before half time but we were still pretty comfortable. Then the game turned on its head. Two goals for the Tunisians on 65 and 68 minutes meant that one more goal would give them the trophy. The next twenty minutes were absolutely horrible, we were pinned back completely as they constantly lashed balls into our box. They even hit the crossbar. Stoppage time was the worst because I knew a goal then would leave us no time to respond but no. They could not break us down, we clung on in the truest sense of the word. 1-3